We once again return to the opening of the year and stare down the barrel of a future none of us wanted. And yet, comics will continue, despite the various policies that may make paper tantamount to a fucking luxury soon enough. But, until that point, here’s some of the most interesting works coming out over the next year. 

Winter 2025

The Legend of Kamui, Volume 1 by Shirato Sanpei

For the first time in English, the legendary manga from the 60s that helped to push what manga was and what could be published for adults is being made available. Centered on the titular Kamui, this is the story of an outcast child that becomes a ninja as a means of scraping by. But things get violent from there as this isn’t what we think of when we think of ninja children in manga. 

Vagabond Definitive Edition, Volume 1 by Takehiko Inoue

Speaking of legendary manga, Viz Media is putting out hardcover collections of Inoue’s story of the life of famed swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. But this is the man at the very beginning of his life, when he was still a child on the losing side of a war and hunted for his ways. Despite Inoue saying he’ll likely never complete the series, it’s still the sort of manga that deserves to be poured over in this format. 

Land of Mirrors by María Medem

Isolated in a deserted village, Antonia only has her memories to keep her company and not much else. But when she discovers a flower growing in her desolate village, she finds a sense of purpose. Aided by a stranger, she begins to emerge from the village and discover the world that she’s so easily shut out. 

Bronze Faces by Shobo, Shof, and Alexandre Tefenkgi

In this new series from Boom, a group of friends discover something known as The Register—an account of dozens of accounts of artifacts stolen from Nigeria over the decades and housed in the British Museum. They, of course, decide that those artifacts need to be taken back by any means necessary and develop just the heist to make it happen. 

Let This One Be a Devil by James Tynion IV, Steve Foxe, Pitor Kowalski, and Brad Simpson

This four issue miniseries is going to be the first in a series of comics exploring the cryptids we all know and love. For this introductory volume, the creative team is looking at the Jersey Devil at the turn of the century as it hunts through the woods of southern New Jersey and the strange birth of the creature at the start of the 18^th century. 

Spring 2025

The Liminal Zone, Volume 2 by Junji Ito

While it’s doubtful Ito saw my enthusiastic overview of the previous volume of The Liminal Zone and created another, but I can dream in this hell-future. I’m just glad to at least live in a time where more stories of mysterious villages, odd siblings, and invisible forces to keep me company during these continually trying times.

Season of the Roses by Chloé Wary

While sport isn’t exactly my forté, I can always get excited for a story revolving around people fighting against unfair systems. When Barbara’s soccer team, the Rosigny Roses, has their team’s funding pulled in favor of the men’s team, she devises a plan to play her team against theirs to see who can win their season.

The Bees: The Women Who Rocked Lithuania by Akvilė Magicdusté 

One of my favorite things about comics is how there’s always going to be a new graphic novel centered on a history I’ve never known about. This one in particular centers around the titular band and their tours through the Soviet Union in the 60s and 70s. Their sound and style was unheard of at the time and lead to their own run-ins with the KGB. 

Summer 2025

Phenomena Book Three: The Secret by Brian Michael Bendis and André Lima Araújo

This volume brings us to the end of the trilogy from friend of the show, Brian Michael Bendis and collaborator, André Lima Araújo. We finally get to see the lands that Boldon has been talking about for the past few years and see just what the titular phenomena was when we arrive. But then, what could be so bad about this place that Boldon can’t bring himself to even mention it?

To Broadway by Maurane Mazars

Uli wants to dance. But in post-war Germany, the exuberance of his art and Broadway dreams clashes with the world in which he currently lives. After meeting an American in Berlin, Uli plots his course for New York City to achieve his dream, even if the reality of what he’s trying to do can never come to fruition. 

Yucatan 1512 by Alex Vede

When a Spanish expedition makes landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula to plunder a legendary city of Mayan gold, Sorolla, a weathered soldier, just wants to die there. But when his commanding officer kills one of the natives, Sorolla saves their child and the two are hunted by his former compatriots. The pair eventually find the Mayan city, they’re confronted with the long-dormant warriors who remained. 

Raging Clouds by Yudori

The only time Amélie can be herself is when he husband, a merchant, is away on trips. It’s during this time that she can read, study, and try to unlock the mysteries of flight. When her husband returns with a mistress named Sahara, Amélie is drawn to her and the two see their kindred desires to be free from the world they’re trapped in. 

10,000 Ink Stains: A Memoir by Jeff Lemire

Lemire chronicles his bibliography by taking readers into his most famous series while breaking down his life and processes for each. Providing essays on his craft as well as unpublished stories, he shows us how he approached the creation of his worlds and his art. 

He Rolled Me Up Like a Grilled Squid by Yoshiharu Tsuge

Drawn & Quarterly continues their collections of Tsuge’s work with this most recent volume. This sees the artist at a mid-point in his career and the effects of his mental illness shaping much of his work after his time with Garo magazine. But through this, we see much of the mundane world through a lens shaped by anxieties and surreal situations told with various forms of artistic experimentation.

While the world of comics is scheduled as it always is, there’s the tinge of anxiety about what it will look like by this point next year. We may see nothing at all happen as a result of tariffs and trade wars—the typical blustering of a senile asshole—but then we may see an industry strain under the cost of paper and printing. Even through all of this, we have to find the creators that we love and support them however we can. Even while the world changes and the industries falter, comics will still be around. 

Get excited. Get supportive.

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Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, 510, & 651) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.